Ethan Hawke Checked Me Out

On my return to the U.S. from Nova Scotia, I spied Ethan Hawke at the Halifax airport. I was working on my laptop, and he was approximately six feet away, interacting with his wife/girlfriend and two young children. He wore his hair pirate-style in a yellow, knotted bandana. As if he were on location, he was projecting his voice. He seemed to be in hyper-parent mode, as if he were playing the role of a father, rather than relaxing and being an actual father. I simply glanced at him from time to time. One woman approached him for an autograph. He didn't even look at her and said dismissively to his son, "This woman wants me to sign her book." Over the course of the next two hours, I was in very close proximity with Mr. Hawke, but I never approached him. Instead at one point, when he was sitting in a section with only his kids for company, he caught my eye, and I gave him a reserved smile, as one might smile at anyone. A simple acknowledgement of the person's humanity. Nothing less, nothing more. On the small plane from Halifax to JFK, Mr. Hawke and his entourage sat directly behind me. On the plane to LAX, he looked at me as I passed by his first class seat. He was now in a dress shirt and sunglasses, sans bandana and children. (They apparantly had been put on another plane.) The glance he gave me was the kind a man gives a woman he is intrigued by but wants to be discreet because his significant other is in close proximity. The kind of glance that a man uses to check a woman out. But Mr. Hawke was not checking me out in the usual sense. Rather, he was intrigued with me because I treated him as a human being, not a star. Doubtless, this is not the kind of treatment he is accustomed to and perhaps he was intruiged by a woman who was not ga-ga about him. A glance can mean so much, and I have not ever had quite the experience I had with Ethan. A glance of intrigue--Who is this woman who is so calm in my presense? A touch of normalcy and quiet in my unexpected, unrehearsed, unexpectant smile. One of the more beautiful interactions I have had in a long while.